Star Trek: 23rd Century Borg
by uniquemick
Summary: The last story of the Enterprise and of how the Federation came across the Borg and didn't even know it.


**Star Trek: 23rd Century Borg**

**By Michael Burness**

This is the re edited and combined my two other Trek fanfictions _**Star Trek: Final Fight**_ and _**Star Trek: Borg Origin**_. It puts my two works together as one large story and I've re edited a few bits and bobs since its been a while since I've wrote these.

I hope you enjoy this fan fiction and leave me some reviews. Cheers

* * *

The year is 2293 and James T Kirk is stood in his ceremonial Starfleet uniform looking out of one of the many observation decks located on Starbase 215. The man is in a sombre mood as he thinks back on his son, David. Outside the observation window, the Enterprise sits docked in the internal shipyard all powered down. Small shuttlecrafts are dotted around her supporting the crews that are repairing any exterior damage after her engagement at Khitoma. Kirk takes a final sip from his champagne glass as the swoosh of the automatic door opens behind him.

"_Any particular reason why you're hiding in here"? _Asks McCoy.

Doctor McCoy and Mr Spock walk up next to Kirk. Jim doesn't turn to look at them but instead keeps his sad glare on his ship. Bones gives him a warm smile as he senses his friends' sadness.

"_You know it is the captain's right to stick around at these dull parties and bore everyone with their stories of Klingon encounters and run-ins with pretend Gods you know". _

Kirk turns to face his old friends.

"_It's a decommission ceremony Bones. We're here to celebrate the decommission of a major part of my life". _

Bones takes a swig of his own champagne, thinks for a moment and then as he speaks it makes Kirk give a smile.

"_God damn it Jim you can really suck the life out a party"._

Spock raises his eyebrow at the illogical thought that this mood is solely down to his captain and friend having to walk away from Enterprise for the last time.

"_It seems illogical to weep for a ship Jim". _

McCoy turns to him and with the scowl Spock has seen so many times over the years and says.

"_Good God man. Are you completely devoid of any kind of soul you green blooded elf"?_

Jim puts his empty glass onto the nearby table and turns back to the giant window.

"_Seems such a waste that she is being patched up just to be retired to the Memory Alpha ship museum"._

The three friends turn to leave the deck and return to the party thrown in honour of the famous flagship. As they leave Spock turns to Jim.

"_You think you are taking it bad captain. I hear they had to prise Scotty off the bulkhead by force"._

Kirk and Bones are laughing at Spock's comment as they exit. As they are about to leave Kirk turns to look at the ship over his shoulder. He gives a loving smile and what was once his home for so many years.

"_Gods speed old friend". _

The next day an elderly and quite portly Andorian Captain called Thelev is walking the corridors of Enterprise on his way to the bridge. Thelev has been given the honour of being the very last captain of Enterprise. His job is to take the ship to get it downgraded and ready for its new home. His chief engineer runs up to join him. She is a Trill woman in her early fifties but still very attractive for her age.

"_How was the party last night? Some of us were working till 0300 hours of course" _

The captain looks at her, his head heavy with a hangover. It never surprises him how full of life she is even at the ungodly hour of the morning.

"_It went well, but I swear Lenara_ _it's the last time I get talked into a drinking contest with Pavel Chekhov"._

She gives a cheeky grin as they continue towards the turbolift.

"_You're getting old Captain, you don't have the ability of an young Andorian anymore". _

The captain smiles as he pushes the button for the lift.

"_Any more back chat like that and I'll stick you in the brig"._

Lenara laughs as she watches Thelev get in the lift. She passes him her electronic clipboard that contains the final repair report on the ship.

"_Oh is that so? I can't see my husband liking that very much"._

The captain takes the clipboard and throws Lenara a wink as the doors begin the shut.

"_God job I am your husband then isn't it?"_

The doors open onto the bridge and Thelev walks out. Since it is just a Skeleton crew the stations are not all manned. The crew is one he has worked with some of them for a few years now. They are mostly made up of cadets on their one-year fleet experience duties from Starfleet academy or fully qualified crew who are close to retirement. The latter is the case of Thelev, the man is only eight months from retirement and looking forward to moving back to Andoria. Lenara isn't overly thrilled to join him as she was never one for the cold in any of her life cycles. The captain eases himself into his seat and has a look around the bridge. He has always liked this class of ship and before today has only had the pleasure to captain a Constitution once before.

"_Report Mr Ryker". _

Ryker is a human cadet only into his first three months of on the job training. A competent pilot but still a little green around the gills but Thelev trusts him all the same. Saying that he is still keeping an eye on this young human as he's never flown a Constitution class outside of a simulator.

"_Repairs were all completed last night Captain. We're ready to ship out on your order". _

You see the captain lean over to hit the communication button on his chair arm.

"_Thank you ensign, Bridge to Engineering". _

The speaker crackles into life, and the voice of his wife and chief engineer can be heard.

"_Engineering here captain". _

"_Report"._

Lenara is stood inside Engineering at a communication console. The engine room is a buzz of lights and humming noises. Her team is going about their business of monitoring consoles and making final adjustments.

"_All ready Captain. The last of the work crews have left so we're ready when you are"._

Back in the bridge, Thelev gives a nod towards Ryker as he shuts off the com link.

"_Helm, take us out. One quarter impulse"._

The docking clamps and walkways begin to retract away for the side of the ship. Her thrusters gently power up and manoeuvre the Enterprise away form the sidewall. Reaching maximum distance the main impulse engines hum into life and start the ship on her move out of the dock. The giant internal hull doors start their slow slide to open and Enterprise eases through the gap. The French communication's ensign swings on his chair to face his captain. Thelev wasn't a big fan of his, the ensign in his opinion was lazy and not what starfleet was looking for. He would make sure his end of tour report would reflect as much.

"_Captain Thelev I'm receiving a communication from the dock commander. It seems that we have someone outside waiting to say goodbye. It's USS Excelsior and we are being hailed". _

Captain Thelev orders to have it put up on screen. They are greeted by the image of a smiling Captain Hikaru Sulu.

"_Captain Thelev. I couldn't leave without seeing her in flight one last time"._

Thelev had a few dealings with Sulu in the past and when they had met in passing they have always enjoyed each others company. He had a lot of respect for Sulu what with his time with Jim Kirk but also as the man in the big seat of the Excelsior.

"_Don't worry captain I'll make sure not to scratch her"._

"_ha-ha-ha I know you will Thelev. Take care of her she's been through a lot"._

The screen cuts off and is replaced by the image of the Excelsior turning away and jumping to warp.

"_Set course Mr. Ryker. Maximum warp"._

Yes she had been through a lot but even now he couldn't resist putting Enterprise into the wind and giving her the full beans. After all this would be her final run. After leaving Mars and her warp engine internals removed she would make the final journey to earth under impulse. He was sure Lenara wouldn't mind him pushing the engines like this. After all, it was a simple enough mission.

A few hours into the mission Lenara had managed to convince her husband that it would be a better idea to drop back to warp four. Disappointedly Thelev had agreed as he was hoping to make the run to the Utopian shipyards in record time. Sat in his ready room he is making his first log as the captain on the Enterprise.

"_Captains log. We're two hours out of Starbase 215 and on course for Utopia Planitia shipyards on Mars. My heart is heavy for this final mission of a ship with so much history on it that…"_

The rumble of his stomach stops him mid sentence. The captain shut of his recording device and decides that he should probably force a late breakfast down his throat. It may even help with the hangover his was fighting. Arriving in the canteen he first notices his wife sat having a sandwich, the second thing to hit his is the smell of food. His stomach turns at the thought of eating so he decides too only have a cup of coffee as he sits down next to Lenara. The canteen is mostly empty with a few of the lower deck crews grabbing a quick bite to eat.

"_So did you get to see all of the tweaks in engineering"?_

Lenara swallows her food and wipes her mouth with a napkin.

"_Montgomery Scott,is a genius. At least eighty percent of the modifications should be updated onto the remaining Constitution class ships if you ask me". _

Her husband takes a sip of his coffee and rests his forehead in his free hand.

"_Doubtful they would ever do that. With Enterprise to mothballed it leaves only three of the same class in use. The Excelsior class is the backbone of the federation now"._

Pulling a face Lenara replies to his comment.

"_Yuk. Horrible bloody ship that. It always makes me think of a fat elephant when I look at one"._

Thelev chuckles as he finishes his coffee off.

"_Well I wouldn't say no if they gave me one". _

Lenara throws her napkin at him in a mock huff, it lands on his head. The captain does not attempt to remove it such is his hangover and just leaves it there.

"_Bet you would since you know I'm not qualified to work on Excelsior ships. So if they give you one you couldn't work with your wonderful wife anymore". _

Thelev gives out a laugh as he finally pulls the napkin off his head and swings back on his chair legs.

"_Always with the silver lining. Ha Ha Ha! Anyway we're only months away form retirement Mrs Thelev and God knows we're earned it"._

His attention is drawn to the speaker system as he hears the communication ensign's voice click into life and requests the captain come to the bridge as soon as possible. Thelev says goodbye to his wife and walks out to find the nearest turbo lift. He enters the bridge and turns to the ensign who is patiently waiting for him.

"_Sir it's a priority message from Starfleet. It's addressed to all ships in the quadrant"._

Thelev has a concerned look on his face as he lowers himself into the captain's chair. He gives the order to put it onscreen. He knows that a fleet wide message can only mean bad news.

"_On Screen ensign"_

The Captain and his senior members of the skeleton crew are all sat in the make shift meeting room in the Enterprises senior dinning room. Thelev looks serous as he is standing at the head of the table and he addresses the other four officers.

"_A short time ago, I received a priority transmission from Admiral Morrow at Starfleet Command. They have asked for every available ship to meet at these co-ordinates". _

The captain turns and hits a button on his remote and a video screen comes on showing a star map. Ryker sticks his hand in the air.

"_Captain isn't that the Neutral Zone on the Klingon border"? _

Thelev puts the remote back on the table and takes his seat as he replies to his helmsman.

"_Correct. Starfleet intelligence have informed us that of 0800 hours this morning the Klingon fleet have engaged an unknown alien ship within their own space". _

Waves of concerned looks pass the table between the department heads. Lenara speaks up first.

"_What and the Klingon's have asked for help? I'm assuming there is a twist we're missing here Captain"._

Thelev hits the remote again and the screen kicks up a new image of the alien ship. The ship isn't as elegant as most ships seen in the alpha quadrant but instead looks like a mass of green glowing energy conduits and tightly packed grey piping. The overall shape is one of a perfect rectangle.

"_No official word has come from the Klingons asking for assistance and yes there is a twist. These are long range scans of the alien ship. It's a hell of a size and has an energy signature we've never seen before. The thing is at least ten times the size of the Enterprise". _

Lt Harper gets out of his seat and has a closer look at the tactical data on the video screen.

"_Weapons"?_

Lt Harp'ar had been with the captain for five years now and was the only member of his crew to have seen actual combat. The weapons question was not of a surprise to Thelev, as the tactical officer always seemed to be up for a fight.

"_The alien weapons were cutting through the Klingon shields as if they are not even there. Early estimates show that they have lost a third of their fleet in that sector". _

The captain watched the shocked reaction of the others as they look at each other. He breaks the silence within the room.

"_The alien ship is on a direct course for Earth. It jumps to warp ten every forty-seven minutes then drops out after an hour. It seems the Klingons have at least damaged its warp capabilities. They predict in just under an hour the ship will drop at the co-ordinates provided. Starfleet want to deliver the killing blow and stop this ship before it does God knows what in Earth space". _

You see Thelev stand from his seat. The rest follow his lead as they see the briefing is coming to an end. The captain leans forward onto the table. He has that look in his eyes that means he is all business.

"_Starfleet know we're in no condition to fight but they want us there none the less. Our task is to provide support and be responsible for evacuating severely damaged ships and pass the wounded to the medical frigates that will be unable to get 'inbetween' the fighting"._

After the department heads return to their locations the ships crew who are all apprised of the situation and burst into life. Their main aim to make sure the Enterprise is in top condition for the battle. As they near their completion of duties, the speaker system on the ship kicks into life.

"_This is your captain speaking. We're not there to stop this thing but to save lives. Yes we're only a skeleton crew but I've worked with you all for so long that I know you can do this. In ten minutes we will be along side the medical frigate USS Unico. She will beam over extra medical staff and supplies". _

A short time later, the Miranda class ship USS Unico is in formation with the Enterprise with both ships only a matter of minutes away from the co-ordinates. They have slowed to Warp five to ensure a complete safe transport of all supplies and personnel. On the bridge Thelev is updated by Ensign Johns.

"_Medical supplies and staff have finished being beamed aboard captain"._

"_Ryker increase our speed to warp nine". _

The internal communication light flashes on the captains chair. Hitting the receive button the speaker spits out the voice of the new head doctor from the Unico.

"_Sickbay to bridge, we're all set down here captain." _

Sickbay is alive with people running about getting everything ready. On the comms is Dr Phlox speaking to the captain. Thelev's voice comes back to answer his new medical officer.

"_Thank you Dr Phlox and welcome aboard. We're behind schedule and the battle has already started. So we'll be taking injured onboard straight away"._

"_Understood Captain and may I say it's pleasant to work on an Enterprise again". _

Back in the bridge Ryker shouts out to his captain that they are at the co-ordinates. Thelev orders him to drop them to impulse and put up the battle on the main view screen. They are met by a horrific view of the battle already in full swing. They can see all the other different classes of Federation ship attacking the alien ship. Ships are blown apart and debris is everywhere. Ships are firing phasers and torpedoes on the massive enemy ship. Even without his detailed scans, Thelev could tell the Federation was losing against this single enemy and losing badly at that.

The Enterprise skilfully manoeuvres through the debris and carnage of battle. The area is alight with weapons fire from both sides. Thelev is quickly reading the incoming tactical data with regards the enemy ship. He's astounded to find that it is able to adapt to the frequency changes of the different federation phaser types. Sensors were also picking up that the enemy warp engines are regenerating on their own. He knows if this ship jumps to warp it can be at Earth in no time. The deck is shaking hard as a shock wave comes from an exploding saucer section from a nearby hit ship.

"_Mr Ryker. Hard to port"!_

"_Aye Captain"!_

From his tactical console sat next to Ryker Harp'ar spins on his seat to address his Captain.

"_Sir it's the Lexington. She's been hit. Warp core has been breached". _

"_Helm, get us in there, maximum impulse". _

The Enterprise swings towards the crippled Excelsior class Lexington. The Lexington has taken bad damage and is venting plasma from its starboard warp engine. It is still firing some phasers to the enemy ship. The captain shouts out his orders.

"_Transporter room two, begin emergency beam out of the Lexington". _

Turning to Lt Harp'ar the captain gives another order as the ship shakes and electrical relays blow out behind him.

"_Focus phasers on the enemy weapon banks that are targeting the Lexington and us". _

The green energy of an alien phaser shot hits the enterprise in the engineering section. The engine room explodes and crew members are being thrown to their deaths. As the ship buckles and a groans under the attack. An injured Lenara gets to a communication console.

"_Medical emergency in Engineering. Medical teams please respond"._

Back on the bridge, things are not much better. Ensign Johns and Captain Thelev are in the middle of fighting an electrical fire at the science station. Harp'ar shouts out his update report.

"_Transporters at eighty percent captain. We are forty seconds away from completing beam out"._

His captain returns his report with a fresh set of orders.

"_Take phasers off line. Transfer power to transporters and structural integrity"._

"_Captain"?_

"_They're no good anyway against the alien ship anyway. Best off using the power elsewhere. _

The Lexington starts to yaw to face the alien ship its thrusters coming back online. An incoming transmission comes through to the captain's chair.

"_Sir this is Transporter room two. The Lexington's bridge has put up a disruption field; I cannot beam off their captain. He's still on the ship"._

Now facing the alien ship and missing a good portion of it's saucer section they can see the Lexington start a ramming run on the alien ship.

"_It's their Captain sir… he's taking the ship in. Warp Core about to erupt"!_

Thelev who is now back in the captains chair leans forward, his hands gripping the side as he shouts his order knowing that if he doesn't act fast the Enterprise could be taking out with the Lexington.

"_Helm, get us out of here NOW"! _

The Enterprise climbs away the Lexington's warp core explodes as it hits the alien ship. You see the Enterprise vibrate and buckle as the shock wave hits them. The crew are thrown around like toys as power fails all around the ship. Thelev picks himself up off the floor as the emergency generators kick in.

"_Report Lt Harp'ar"_

"_External sensors are off line. By the looks of it we have multiple hull breaches on decks A to E". _

Thelev staggers to Ensign Johns who is slumped in his seat and bleeding from his head. The captain checks his pulse and quickly finds the young ensign is dead. He hits the communication button.

"_Bridge to engineering, come in"._

"_Lenara here captain, all primary and secondary systems offline, we're crippled on backup power only". _

"_I need my sensors back up Chief, I need to know what is going on out there"._

Lenara hits a number of buttons on her console and begins a hard restart of the short distance sensors. She breaths a sigh of relief when it comes online. Back in the bridge, Thelev is over Ryker's shoulder looking at the data coming in. There is no sign of the alien ship but only the semi crippled Federation fleet. The blue glow of a transporter lights up the bridge. It's the first officer of the USS Unico and a medical team.

"_Sir we're hear to help and begin transport of your crew and patients to our ship. It's over captain, the alien ship has warped away"._

Twenty-four hours later and Captain Thelev is sat in a huge briefing room on the station Deep Space Three. He is there with other star ship captains and commanders waiting for the debriefing to start. He feels a hand on his shoulder from the seat behind. He turns to find Captain Sulu smiling back to him.

"_Good to see you again Captain Thelev". _

"_You too Sulu"_

"_I hear you saved the lives of everyone on the Lexington"_

"_Well everyone but the Captain it would seem". _

Thelev eyes grow sad and the thought of the crew he had lost in the battle. They had all served with amazing courage and he would see that every one of them would receive a commendation from Starfleet for there actions. It could have been worse he thought, he had only lost three crewmen and thank the Gods his wife was relatively unhurt. With the salvage of the Enterprise from the battlefield the ship would still after a few months of repairs be able to become that museum piece. The lights dim as Admiral Morrow takes the stage. Behind him the huge screen shows a detailed tactical display of the enemy ship. Thelev had found out from the Unico's captain that after the warp breach the alien ship had jumped away using some sort of Transwarp conduit that the fleet was unable to follow. Whoever this race was Thelev knew that this ship of theirs was just testing the defences of each race. It was clear that the Federation would meet these aliens again and next time they'd be ready for them.

Thelev looked around the admiral's office as he waited. He could see Admiral Morrow's many commendations on the wall and a miniature scale model of the admiral's first commission, The USS Talon, an Apollo class ship that by the looks of the model was the refit variant. It had been four months since the battle of Sector 36764, around twelve federation ships had been lost that day with thousands dead. Thelev and his crew had the task of delivering Kirks old ship to the memory alpha museum when they were called into action to help. They had been responsible for saving the crew of the USS Lexington and many others. Thelev and his skeleton crew all had received medals of honour for their courage. The noise of the large oak door to the office creaking snapped Thelev back into reality and he turns to see Admiral Morrow and another man enter the office.

"_Greetings Captain". _Morrow smiles.

The admiral motions for the two men to take a seat.

"_Captain Thelev this is Charles Tucker"_

The admiral explains as he takes his seat.

"_Charles is in charge of the Klingon Intelligence office"_.

"_Please to meet you Captain. I've heard a lot about you. Congratulations by the way on your medal for your actions at 36764" _

Tucker says as he smiles and shakes the Andorian's hand. Morrow sizes up Thelev for a moment before giving him the reason as to why he had called him here. Thelev on the other hand was just happy to be called up. It was only weeks away from retirement and frankly, he was beginning to regret the fact he was going home. He was looking forward to it when he was going to live with his wife on his home world but in the last, few months their marriage had fell apart. Lenara had never been in battle before and after seeing the death of some of her colleagues at the battle of Sector 36764 it had drove her into a deep depression. This in turn heaped pressure on their marriage. Morrow finally began.

"_You may be wondering why we called you here"_

"_It crossed my mind yes" _

The admiral looks over at Charles. The intelligence officer stands to pass Thelev a handheld computer PDA. Flashing up on it was general information regarding the battle and scans of the alien craft.

"_In the months since the engagement we have collected quite a large amount of information" _

Charles shifts in his seat to better face the captain.

"_There is a great deal we have kept out of the public domain regarding our losses and what actually happened that day". _

Both the admiral and Charles could see from Thelev's expression that the Captain was confused by the statement. Thelev indeed was confused. He was at the battle; he had even spoken to other captains regarding what had happened that day. What possibly could he not know? He thought to himself Mr Tucker continues

"_We have reports logged that the alien's had transported aboard some damaged federation ships and uploaded large portions of their databases. What is more worrying is that we have over two hundred crew members missing from the official dead logs"._

_What? Are you telling me we have men and women missing in action? Why has nothing been said about this"?_

Thelev was becoming quite angry at the thought that Starfleet had people missing in action and no one was told. The admiral cuts in and he leans forward on his desk.

"_The facts are these Captain. Starfleet is still reeling from the political fallout over the attempted assassination of the President by our own command staff. Moral is at a all time low and it was decided that this information, [of which we were not aware of UNTIL the clean up began], would be kept behind closed doors until a rescue plan could be drawn up". _

Thelev leans back in his chair and takes a minute. He didn't know what was making him feel worse, the fact that two hundred people were abducted or that Starfleet had botched the information and tried to hide it just so they didn't look bad politically. The intelligence officer broke the silence this time around.

"_We have gathered similar information from the Klingons and the other races that had engagements with this alien vessel. It's clear this was a scout ship testing our borders and collecting information on us" _

"_For an invasion?"_

The admiral begins to load up some additional information and schematics on his computer console_. _

"_That's what we think. We need to know more on this race Captain. We have a joint effort mission we need you for"_

"_Why me"? _

"_The bottom line is this Captain. With our losses at 36764 we are low on experienced captains especially with the death of Captain Kirk on the new Enterprise"._

The admiral spins his console screen toward Thelev. The captain can see the schematics for an Excelsior class star ship.

"_This is the USS Barak, she was heavily damaged in the battle. For the last two months we've been retro fitting her as a pure warship…"_

The admiral stands up, straightens his uniform and address Thelev with a distinct tone of authority.

"…_Captain Thelev we are asking you to take the Barak and rescue our people"._

Thelev stands and solutes his admiral.

"_Yes sir, I'll be honoured_".

"_Report to Deep Space 3 in two days time for your overall briefing"._

The admiral says this as he shows the captain the door. After he leaves the intelligence officer and Morrow look at each other, and their faces both say the same thing. That this is a suicide mission at best.

The Miranda class star ship clunks into place as she docked with Deep Space 3. Captain Thelev disembarks the ship and is greeted by the Commander in charge of the station.

"_Hello Captain I'm Commander Franklin. Welcome aboard". _

The two men shake hands and Franklin leads Thelev off towards to station's situation room. Once there the Captain could see his crew of 200 including two units of Marines already sat waiting to hear the details of the mission. Thelev is being introduced to the commander in charge of the federation marines, a Xindi called Commander Tilko.

"_Captain, I'm Tilko Tarran we're looking forward to getting our people back from those bastards". _

"_Good man" _Thelev replied, "_I'll make sure you're given your chance,"_

Thelev sits down in the front of the speaking hall. Behind Franklin who had took the speakers spot was a giant view screen showing images to go along with the briefing. Thelev had looked over much of the data on his trip to DS3. He was particularly impressed with the stats for the USS Barak. Quad forward photon torpedo tubes, duel aft tubes and multiple standard phaser banks giving a full multi angle firing solution. In addition, there were the upgraded shields, sensors and engines. However, the most impressive thing on the ship was the prototype Type X Phaser array that sat above and below the saucer section. This was incredibly powerful and able to change frequencies at will to combat a change in shield frequency of any enemy. It seems this was going to be the main weapon of choice for Starfleet's next generation of ships. Thelev looked to his left as the briefing continued. He could see the contingent of Klingons who are part of this joint operation. The USS Barak would be joined by a K't'inga Type Klingon ship. Since the Klingon's had shared a lot of intelligence on their own battle with the alien ship it was decided that one of there ships would be sent as well. If anything it meant they could cover more ground. The tech-heads back on Earth had found a way of opening the conduit allow both ships to go where ever the alien's went and bring back Info and prisoners. As the briefing finished and the crew started to head to the Barak, Thelev is stopped in his tracks by a Klingon General.

"_Captain, I am T'Lang of the destroyer Q'nar" _The General began_ "I'll be in command and I'm looking forward to joining you on this quest"_

Thelev was a little stunned by the pleasantry of the Klingon. _"General, it's a pleasure to have you by our side. Tell me are you on a rescue mission as well"?_

"_Good God no" _T'Lang says as he slaps his hand down on Thelev's shoulder and laughs. "_No Klingon is allowed to let themselves become captured. It is their duty to fight to the death"_

Thelev unlike most federation citizens didn't mind the Klingon's. He has never bought into most of the Federation propaganda about their cold war enemy. He saw them as a people just like everyone else. A short time later and after being introduced to his command staff Thelev stepped onto the bridge of the Barak. His crew had all been hand picked by Starfleet Command. He wondered how many better qualified men and women had lost their lives at 36764. It was times like this he missed the skeleton crew he used to work with, even Ensign Johns. The bridge was alive with view screens and consoles. The captain took his seat and prepared to give his first order.

"_Helm, prepare to disembark. Advise Deep Space 3 we're leaving" _

Tactical officer Milne looks up from his position towards the captain. _"The Q'nar has jumped to warp sir". _

"_Fine_" he replies _"Helm set course for sector 36764, maximum warp"._

The USS Barak pulls away for the docking station and rotates to face the new co-ordinates. The ship blurs for a moment and stretches forward as she jumps to warp. Within seconds, she is pulling passed warp six. Thelev had not seen so much acceleration on a ship. He thought to himself that it was a shame that his wife would miss out being here and seeing this entire new layout. Yes she was no fan of the Excelsior class but would have loved to get the chance to get amongst the new technology aboard the vessel. The time it would take to get to sector 36764 would be enough for Thelev to finger through the crew manifest. From what he could see with the exception of himself and two others, the ship was practically all human. Not that he had a problem with them but he always felt more at ease if there was more of a mix of aliens on board. Lt Bristow worked the helm; she informed the captain that they are at the coordinates. The order was given for the Barak to drop back to impulse.

"_No sign of the Klingon's Captain"_ Milne reported.

"_Bring us up to the gate,"_ Thelev ordered.

The Gate was the name used for the giant deflector dish Starfleet had built. Its job was to direct a large amount of Quelling Radiation at the weakened subspace coordinates of the conduit and force it to reopen. A few hundred feet off the port nacelle the Q'nar decloaked. General T'Lang's voice is heard through the speakers.

"_Greetings Captain, we're ready when you are. We will lead the way. _

The speaker shut off. On the main screen, they could see the klingon's take up position in front of the USS Barak. The deflector dish begins to power up. Two Excelsiors and the last Constitution ship begin to power their weapons and shields. The thought was that if they open the Conduit and the aliens come out then it would be best to be ready. The Klingon's had sent three Birds of Prey and an old K Class. They had taken a huge loss when they had engaged the enemy last time that this is really all they could spear. The view screen becomes awash with light as the transwarp conduit opens.

"_Captain to all crew"_ Thelev griped the arms of his chair _"we're going in"_

He looks over to Bristow and gives her the nod. USS Barak and the Q'Nar move into the Conduit.

The USS Barak is battered by the gravitation force of the transwarp conduit. Engineering are trying their best to combat the forces.

"_Engineering, report"_ Thelev yelled down the two-way system. The nose of the buffering masking much of what he could hear.

"_Captain we've reset the emitters we should be levelling out now"_

But before the sentence was even finished the ride became infinitely more smooth.

"_Thank god for that,"_ Thelev mumbled to himself.

They had been in the conduit for a good twenty minutes and no one had an idea of where it was taking them. They signal from the Gate was still strong so at least they knew they could communicate with the ships at the mouth of the conduit. Then without notice, the two ships re-entered normal space and came to a stop. Around them, they could see what remained of a massive battle. Ships marking the same scan signature of the alien craft they encountered all those months ago floated dead in space. The only thing left untouched was the giant alien version of Starfleet's gate that they past to. It seemed to be a giant ring fifty times the size of the USS Barack.

"_Well the good news is that at least it seems they can be killed"_ Thelev thought aloud as he walked over to his tactical officer. _"Mr Milne report please"._

A few button pushes on his console brings up a full tactical report for Lt Milne.

"_Captain, some of these ships match what we are looking for. The rest are of unknown structure and by the looks of it responsible for the destruction of…"_

Milne trailed off. His expression let the captain know that something serious had come up on his screen.

"_What is it"? _

"_I think I've found the actual ship that was in our sector sir. It's heavily damaged on the far side of the battlefield. Scans indicate no power but I'm picking up what I think is life signs"_ Milne paused for a moment _"sir I think it could be a few of our people"_

Thelev give the order for Bristow to take the ship closer in. his second order was to get the Q'Nar up on hale.

"_Yes Captain"_ came the response from General T'Lang _"What is it"?_

"_General we have found the ship that attacked us. We're going in". _

"_Agreed Captain, we to have picked it up" _The General continued,_ "If you find any Klingon survivors please leave them as you find them. They should have all died in glorious battle"_

The communication went dead. The bridge crew all looked at each other as if they really should have known better than to see compassion from a Klingon. The USS Barack moved in closer to the damaged enemy ship. She was missing a huge chunk of her hull and scans indicated some sort of nuclear explosion. Most probably from one of the other specie's ships that were spread out destroyed across the battlefield.

"_The ship is dead sir but I'm picking up small pockets of energy in a few sections. One of these is where I'm picking up humanoid scans," _Milne reported

"_Bridge to Transporter room" _

"_Yes Captain" _came back the response.

"_Can you lock onto the life signs and beam them aboard"? _

"_Yes sir" _

A call for a medical team to go to Transporter Room 2 went out over the loud haler as Thelev made his way down there himself. Within minutes, he is standing watching an ensign get a lock on and energise the transport. The medical team stood waiting as they all watched the blue glow of the transports kick in. Almost immediately, Thelev could see that there was a problem.

"_Sir I can't get a complete transport, it's some sort of damping signal,"_ The ensign said.

Thelev could hear in the ensign's voice that he was trying to sound calm but was panicking.

"_It's okay Ensign, you can do this"_ The captain replied.

However, this was not to be the case. Only one of the four initial transports was successful in a full transport. Lying on the pad in front of them was what looked to once be a human. But now it looked as if some one had grafted on a robotic arm and replaced one eye with some sort of electronic scanner. Underneath the armour and wires, they could still make out the torn parts of a Starfleet uniform.

"_What the hell"?_ One of the medical team members said as he cautiously approached the body.

Thelev got that feeling in his gut that he hated. The feeling that everything was about to go to shit. Hitting the communication pad, he orders a security team to the transporter room. Just as he did, he turned in time to see one of the doctors being thrown across the room. This 'thing' was now stood upright. It's one mechanical arm wrapped around the neck of the other doctor.

Thelev watched as this survivor tries to talk. _"We... I… We are... B... org"_

It struck him that even though this thing was doing what it was, it seemed the human inside of it was being forced to do it by the will of something else. Before he had, a chance to take it all in he is shaken out of it by the phaser fire hitting the strange visitor square in the head killing him instantly. Thelev turns to see the transporter ensign lower his weapon.

"_I'm… I'm sorry Captain… he…"_ the ensign stuttered.

The Captain reassured him. _"Don't worry about it son, you did the right thing"_.

They all moved over to the corpse. Luckily the two medical staff didn't suffer life threaten injuries. When security arrived, they moved the body to sickbay for examination. Thelev returned to the bridge to contact the Q'Nar to inform them of what happened.

'_Hale the Klingon Ship"_ the captain ordered as he sat in his chair.

"_I'm afraid there is no reply" _Milne responded. _"The last report from them was that they were investigating another section of the area to transport materials aboard to take back". _

"_Are we reading any more life forms"?_

"_No captain" _

"_Ms Bristow, set course for the Q'Nar"._ Thelev ordered to his helms woman.

The USS Barack made its way under impulse to the last co-ordinates of the Klingon ship. Again hales were not being responded to and Thelev was beginning to get that feeling in his gut again. They finally found the Q'Nar listing in space.

"_Report" The_ captain ordered to his tactical officer.

"_Her engines are offline, and I'm seeing disruptor energy readings form all of their decks" _

"_Who the hell are they fighting"? _

Bristow yells out "_Sir she's back online, she's turning to face us"_

"_Captain the Q'Nar is haling us. Sound only"._ The communications officer says.

Sat forward in his seat Thelev replies _"About time. Put it up"._

_"Strength is irrelevant. Resistance is futile. We wish to improve ourselves. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service ours."_

"_Emergency manoeuvre, Alpha-6" _

The Barak drops down the Z-Axis as the Q'Nar sails over the top. The federation ship continues to let out a spray of red phaser fire as the two ships pass each other.

"_Shields at eighty percent and holding"_ Lt Milne shouts over the sound of the rumbling bulkhead as another Klingon torpedo is absorbed by the shields.

The two ships had been locked in a firefight for a good two minutes at this point. Sensors had picked up that a battle was still raging in the Q'Nar. Bristow had suggested maybe a mutiny onboard the Klingon ship. Thelev had a different theory but held his tongue until he could see the dead body in sickbay. This in part is why he has only ordered concentrated phaser fire on the shield emitters on the Klingon craft only.

"_Thelev to Commander Tarran. Are you ready"? _

Commander Tarran and four other marines were stood fully equipped on the pads in transporter room one.

"_Ready when you are Captain". _

Back on the bridge, Thelev has ordered Bristow to get behind the Klingon cruiser. Lt Milne had locked a single torpedo to bring down their shields fully.

"_Their __Shields at ten percent. Torpedo locked and ready". _Lt Milne advised.

"_Let it loose Lt"_ Thelev ordered.

The orange glow of the photon torpedo shoots from the upper port tube. Gliding left and right the internal guidance unit guides the torpedo to its target. Five seconds after leaving the tube, it stuck its destination with a brilliant explosion and the green glow of the Klingon shields drops away.

Thelev slams his thumb into his comm. _"Shields are down, Transporter room energise. Good hunting Tilko". _

The blue glow of the transporter dissipates and Tilko and the marines are standing in a circle facing out and weapons ready. The floor beneath them shakes as another phaser hit from the Barak strikes the ship. It was agreed that while the marines were on board they would continue to fire on the Q'Nar's weapons to disable her. The small squad moves out and heads to the main engineering section.

"_Tilko to the Barak. We are heading to waypoint Beta now. Captain there are Klingon bodies everywhere…"_

His report is cut short by a shot of green Klingon disruptor fire hitting one of the Marines. Taking cover Tilko spots the shooter. It is a Klingon but his skin is covered in black and grey veins. His expression is blank as he walks unsteadily towards the marines. One of the privates takes his shot and downs the Klingon in a blast of white sparks. As the Klingon drops, they see approaching from behind him what they can tell straight away is one of the enemy aliens. It was an unknown species to them, almost dog like in its stature and also seemed to be melded with mechanical parts. Its right eye is glowing red it quickly scans the Marines.

"_What the hell is that thing"?_ Tilko whispers to himself as the alien slowly marches towards them.

"_Drop the son of a bitch,"_ he finally orders and the Marines open fire and kill it.

"_Sir, the tri-corder is picking up more of the same moving towards us"._ Tilko's sergeant warns him.

From around the corner one more of the strange bio-mechanical aliens staggering. Tilko orders his men to open fire but the alien's personal shield stops their phaser fire.

"_Keep firing,"_ he orders but the alien keeps moving towards them.

"_Sir we've four more almost on us"_

Out of nowhere a Klingon bladed weapons flies past them and hits the alien in the forehead killing it instantly. Tilko turns to see an injured General T'Lang limping up towards them.

"_The ship is lost, get out of here,"_ The General orders _"I'll take care of the rest"_

T'Lang opens his hand to show he's holding a detonator. _"It's attached to the warp core"_

"_Tilko to USS Barak, Emergency beam out! Captain back away from the Q'Nar she's about to explode". _

T'Lang watches as the Marines beam away, he turns to face the four aliens that have appeared. They have been joined by a number of infected Klingon crewman as well.

"_It's a good day to die, yes?"_ the General smirks as he hits the detonator.

Back on the Barak Thelev is standing over helmswomen Bristow. They were in full reverse as the Q'Nar's warpcore exploded and the ship shakes in the warp breach shockwave.

"_Sickbay to the Bridge, Captain I have something you need to see"_

"_On way" _The Captain responded. _"Tactical, report to the… actually where the hell are we"?_

"_Using star reference I think we're in the Delta quadrant sir"_ Milne responded.

"_Fine, report our position and situation to Starfleet using a subspace signal through the open conduit". _The Captain said as he steps off the bridge and onto the turbolift. Thelev hadn't even stepped back out of the lift next to sick bay when Milne hailed him.

"_Captain to the bridge, we have an emergency." _

Thelev rolled his eyes and stepped back onto the turbolift. _"Bridge"!_ Within no time he was back on to bridge. As soon as the doors opened he could see his bridge crew all looking at him with worry in their eyes.

"_What is it? Report, Mr Milne"_

"_Sir… it's the Gate… it's closed"._ Milne answered with a quiver in his voice. _"The conduit started to collapse when I sent the signal through. We're trapped captain."_

"_How the hell would a subspace signal shut it down"? _The captain asks back on the bridge.

The communications ensign swings on her seat to face the deck. _"Captain I think I know what happened, The Gate at this side received a signal from an unknown source and…" _

"_Captain!"_ Milne yells out. _"I'm reading massive power surges in the Gate at this side. Sir I think she's about to blow"!_

The tactical officer's display was showing a definite overload in the sixteen generators that are located around the perimeter of the gate.

"_The power sources on the gate are reaching critical levels sir"_

Thelev is standing over him watching the data come in. "_Get us out of here Helm, Warp three"._

The USS Barack jumps to warp just in time as the gate goes up in a blinding white light that engulfs the debris field that surrounded it including the ship that had attacked the Alpha quadrant.

"_Bring us to an all stop Lt Bristow"_ The captain orders as he slumps into his chair.

The man looks exhausted and sick to his back teeth. They had been in the Delta quadrant no more than an hour and they had already lost their Klingon support but more importantly the only means of getting home. Thelev eventually stands and looks as if he had his second wind.

"_Right, I want a department head meeting in the ready room in one hour. I want a full medical report on what happened to that crewmember we brought onboard and I want to know where that damn signal came from" _

Thelev leaves the bridge and heads towards his ready room. Sat behind his desk he was trying to take in the tactical data the Barak had collected. He was trying to find a way home but nothing was jumping out at him. He leaned back in his seat with his head in his hand. He couldn't help but think Starfleet had made a massive mistake putting him in charge of this whole thing. But now wasn't the time to start feeling sorry for himself he figured. Plenty time to do that when he was dead. He had a whole ship full of people to look after and to make sure he gets them home. It was almost time for the meeting and he still didn't know what to do or say.

"_I should have just gone to Andoria when I had the chance,"_ he mumbled to himself.

The chime on the door goes.

"_Enter"_

Lt Milne, Lt Bristow, and Commander Tilko enter the room all carrying padds. Shortly after Dr Collins and Chief Engineer Smith join them for the meeting. Thelev takes the head of the table hoping that his own fears do not show through to the rest of the group.

"_Okay what have we got"?_ He begins

The first to speak up is Dr Helen Collins. She is the youngest of the group but an incredibly talented doctor and surgeon.

"_I've ran every scan on the young ensign we beamed aboard we can and to be honest the results are a little horrific. His body was infected with nano-machines. Very sophisticated by the looks of them. They attack the DNA of the host and re-write the basic codes, for what end I don't know I'm afraid"_

The chief offers his opinions on the matter. _"From what I can see the nano-machines are at least a hundred years ahead of anything Starfleet has on the drawing boards. The technology is amazing"._

Chief Smith or Smithy as most called him was an old war horse of a guy. He was in a constant state of covered in grime and muck. Thelev had never seen a Chief be so hands on with a ship engineering duties than he was.

"_Okay,"_ Thelev turns to his bridge crew, _"What about the signal and do we have any leads on that"? _

Milne was first to speak _"Yes Communications was able to track it to a planet not far away". _

"_It's about an hour at warp eight, Captain. I can get us underway straight away if you wish"?_ Bristow asked.

"_Yes go ahead"_ The captain replies "_Commander Tilko have you anything to add"?_

Tilko stands and heads over to the large screen and hits a button. The image of the alien comes on screen and data from the tri-corder scrolls beside it.

"_The enemy seems to have some sort of personal shielding that is impervious to our assault rifles. This is only active in the alien's themselves, any infected are easily taken down"_ Tilko takes his seat again, _"between what we saw in the alpha quadrant and here I'd saw that our current weapons and tactics are inefficient at best". _

Thelev rubs the bridge of his noise as he thinks for a moment as to his next step. The rest of them patiently wait to see what their orders will be.

"_Okay set course for the planet. We don't know what well find there but they may hold the only chance for our return to the Alpha Quadrant"_ Thelev stands and straightens his uniform, _"Doctor you and the chief continue your tests on the nano-machines. Maybe you can find something we can use. Dismissed" _

The group broke and headed back to their stations. Thelev decides to stay and wait a moment. In his head, he tried to work out how long it would take to get back home under normal warp drive. At maximum warp, he figured it would take the crew over a hundred years. He thought that perhaps whoever built the transwarp Gate may have built more. If they could find one then they could use it. The trick of course was not to be detected and killed before then. It was becoming clear that Starfleet was in over their heads and they need to be warned. An hour later and the USS Barak is in orbit around the planet.

"_The surface is dead sir. I'm reading a massive radiation signature meaning the most probably coarse was nuclear war"._ Milne continued, _"Whoever lived here is long dead Captain". _

"_Begin scanning the surface again for any signs of that signal. Someone had to have sent it". _

An alarm stared to chime on Lt Milne's console, _"Sir, we're being scanned, we have incoming ships. Six of them" _

"_Raise Shields"!_

"_I've got them on long range sensors"_

"_On screen" _

The main view screen flashes on an image of six alien ships closing in on them. The head up display shows that each ship is the size of the Barack. The design was the same as many of the damaged ships that lay destroyed alongside the enemy alien ships. Thelev hoped that they were fighting each other and not allies destroyed side by side. The enemy was bad enough to fight without taking on equally strong allies.

"_Try and raise them, all frequencies,"_ Thelev orders to his communication's officer.

The view screen changes as the hail is accepted and they are met with the beautiful face of an alien female.

"_I am Kellzy, Sector leader of the Alliance, state you purpose in this region"._ Her voice was firm but soft at the same time.

"_I'm Captain Thelev of the USS Barak. We're part of the United Federation of Planets. We…"_

However before he could finish, the transmission is cut silent, the image remained and it looked as if Kellzy was receiving an update from one of her bridge officers.

"_Lt Milne, how long till weapons range"?_ Thelev asks his tactical officer as he turns his back to the screen.

"_They have dropped out of warp and are in our range now Captain, I'm not reading any targeting scans from their ships. But they are scanning us." _The Lt says and he rechecks his console.

The speakers kick back in and the bridge is once again filled with Kellzy's voice. _"Captain our scan shows you have Borg technology onboard of your vessel". _

"_Borg? No we have no…"_ he pauses for a moment as it dawns on him. _"You mean the crewman we have in our morgue"? He's dead but not before he was infected by some nano-machines". _

By this point, the six ships have come to an all stop in a perimeter around the USS Barack. Kellzy's body language is showing a more relaxed nature towards Thelev. For the first time he could see what he took as exhaustion in the alien's eyes.

"_These Borg…",_ Thelev continues, _"…they invaded our space and killed many of our kind and kidnapped over two hundred. We need all the information you have. Please help us." _

"_You came through the Sulgat didn't you"?_ She asks.

"_Sulgat? You mean the Transwarp Conduit? Yes, yes we did"_ comes Thelev's reply.

"_Captain Thelev, we will transport you to our ship. We have much to discuss"._ Kellzy says with a slight smile.

Less than ten minutes later Thelev is aboard the lead alien vessel. He had been greeted well and not treated like an enemy prisoner. He could sense that these people meant him no harm but looked at him with suspicion. He put it down to the fact that they had never seen an Andorian before; after all he was looking at them as hard as they were at him. The Captain is shown to what he took as a war room. It is flanked with large view screens showing tactical data of The Borg and their ships. Sat around a table are the captains and their second in commands from each of the other six ships.

"_Please"_ greeted Kellzy's with her hand indicating a spare seat, _"Sit here Captain"._

Thelev takes his seat. He was starting to feel a little less intimidated; He had left Milne in charge of the Barack and hoped to the gods that if this all went south then they would be able to get him off and away without any casualties.

"_What you are looking at Thelev is the last of my species"._ Kellzy began. _"The Borg call us Species 215 but we are the Talus-Qual. We have been hunted to near extinction by cybernetic organisms known simply as, The Borg". _

"_Were they the ones who built the… what did you call it? The Sulgat?"_ Thelev asks.

"_No that was built by us. It was meant to be our last escape from this sector of space," s_ays one of the other Captains.

Kellzy takes her seat next to Thelev. _"We are only around eleven thousand strong now; the rest of our species has been killed or assimilated"._

"_Assimilated"? _

"_It's how The Borg does business",_ chirps in one of the other Captains. _"They take over a vessel or colony and meld the life forms and technology to their own". _

"_That wasn't always how it was with them". _

Kellzy stands and uses a remote to switch one of the giant screens to show a Borg robot.

"_They originated outside of our known space, originally a fully robotic entity then went from world to world eradicating every life form it came in contact with and stole any advanced technology. _

The Borg robot wasn't humanoid looking. It seemed to resemble more like a four-legged animal with two arms sprouting form its back and two more from its side. Thelev thought it looked weird and wondered what the kidnapped Starfleet crew had thought when they first encountered them during the abduction. There was no real description from both Klingon or Federation crews as simply none had survived the encounter. Keelzy continues her briefing,

"_As the Borg became a bigger and bigger threat, ourselves and two other races joined forces and created the Alliance. Our main agenda was the defeat of the Borg threat. For a long time we pushed the Borg back until they changed their tactics on us"_

"_How do you mean changed tactics"?_

Another click of the remote and the screen changed again. This time it showed an image of a Talus-Qual but infected and fused with Borg looking technology.

"_They started using biological and electronic hybrid technologies. Turn around for their troops was speeded up by ninety percent. They were no longer dependable on raw materials to make more Borg"._

Kellzy and the others all looked incredibly sad now. Thelev could tell that this must have been the turning point of the war and losses became atrocious.

"_They quite literally used our own people against us". They spread quicker than before and overwhelmed the Alliance. Our last hope was the Sulgat. It was to be our escape from the Borg". _

"_So what happened"? _Thelev asks.

Thelev is sat at the ready room table back on the USS Barak with his department heads. He is just finishing up his debrief of what he learnt over on the Talus-Qual ship.

"…_the planet we are in orbit around was the staging ground for the refugee armada. After abandoning it, they nuked it from space to eradicate any evidence of what they had planed so the Borg couldn't track them as they go through the gate". _

Thelev switches the view monitor to show a blue print of a reinforced bunker that is still be on the planets surface.

"_This would contain a subspace relay that would transmit a self destruct signal to the Gate after they passed through it. However, because of a malfunction, the signal was sent only after the Barack and Q'Nar came through. They don't know why it had such a large delay". _

Commander Tilko raises his hand to ask a question. Thelev gives him the nod of approval.

"_So what happened, how come they didn't go through"?_

"_Basically the Borg caught wind of it and sent four ships to intercept"._ The Captain replied _"In the battle they destroyed all but six of the Talus-Qual ships and in turn lost three of their own. The fourth went through the gate and ended up in the Alpha Quadrant". _

Lt Milne raises his hand this time. _"I suppose the Borg were interested to see where the conduit would lead". _

"_After they tested the Alpha Quadrant they simply returned to report, judging by their previous MO they would have defiantly used the Gate to invade our space", _Thelev continues_, "but Kellzy's ships were waiting and destroyed it as it came through the gate. _

Smithy had this entire time been stood taking a closer look at the view screen,

"_It says here that the Borg can adapt their shielding to any frequency of energy weapons. So how did the Talus-Qual take out so many ships"?_

The captain switches the screen to show a detailed cross section of Talus-Qual torpedo. Smithy could see that it was a basic hardened carbon fibre shell packed with high explosives and a timer. The idea was so simple it was genius, because the Borg's shields are designed to scan and repel any 'energy' signature they were useless against what can only be described as cannon shells. Looking at the stats closer the chief could see they are launched via a rail gun system and would dig the shells into the armour of the enemy's hull then explode.

"_Fascinating"_ he finally said, _"I can retro fit the current stock of Photon torpedoes to do something similar. I can negatively magnetise the launches to spit out the Torpedoes then the sensors can activate them as they pass the Borg shield. Not perfect but may do the job"?_

"_Good stuff chief. Get your men starting on it now," _Thelev answers.

"_Do we have a plan Captain"?_ Lt Bristow asks.

The captain smiles as he looks at his Helmsman, _"Don't we always"?_

Within no time, the crew were running from department to department readying the ship for their upcoming mission. Kellzy had come aboard with around sixty Talus-Qual children that had been rescued form the armada before it was destroyed. Kellzy had made Thelev aware that a second gate was hidden in a nebular not far form here. This was the prototype gate but was only able to transport one ship before burning out. The captain had agreed to take the children so that their race could continue in the Alpha quadrant. Because of this, the Barak would be the one allowed to return and the remaining Talus-Qual ships would hold off the Borg while they escaped. Kellzy had uploaded all the security and activation codes for the Gate. The nebular lay across from a Borg sentry base on a nearby Moon. Together both she and Thelev tried to work out a plan to sneak across without the Borg detecting them. They were now located in the Astro-Metric lab aboard Kellzy's ship. The electronic map stretched out across the surface of the table.

"_I just don't see how we can get to the Nebular without the Borg picking us up_" Thelev mumbled to himself.

"_The best course of action is that you simply make a run for it at maximum warp"_ Kellzy muses, _"When you get close enough activate the Gate and go straight through. We will hold off the one Borg ship that is in that sector"._

"_But once the Borg know the prototype Gates location what's stopping them from just back engineering the technology"? _

"_Quite simply Captain their will be no Sulgate to study. A conduit can be opened in the nebula but once it closes it creates a negative pressure so strong the Sulgat will be crushed to the size of this table" _she replied.

Thelev turns to look at her. In the short time they had spent together, he had grown to have much affection for her bravery_. "And what about you"?_ he asks.

"_It's a standard Borg destroyer in that sector; between the six of us we should be able to cripple it. Once we know you're through the gate we'll go to high warp and try to hide as long as we can"._

Her head drops and she tries to remain calm and not give away her true feelings of fear.

"_As long as the children go with you then our race will continue. Our sacrifice will not be for nothing"._

"_Leader Kellzy"_ the intercom interrupted the silence, _"long range scanners have picked up a new ship by the Moon on our flight path"_

"_Patch the data to Astro-Metrics on the Barak"_ she orders.

On the screen in front of them is a blow up of the moon and a Borg station in orbit. Attached to the station is an unknown class of Borg ship.

"_I'll reroute some more power to the scanners to get a better look"_ Kellzy says as she types in some commands

The image becomes clearer and they finally see it for what it is. In front of them is a ship never before recorded by the Talus-Qual. The ship was four times the size of a normal Borg vessel. Its shape is a perfect cube.

20 minutes later and the Barak and the Talus fleet hide close to a giant asteroid near to their staging post. Kellzy had informed them that the minerals in the rock would help shield them from long range Borg scans.

"_Final survivors have been beamed aboard captain,"_ Milne confirmed, _"Shall I inform the fleet we're ready to ship out"? _

"_Yes"_ Thelev replies as he turns to his Helmswoman, _"Bristow prepare to disengage and take us to maximum warp" _

"_Kellzy is hailing us sir; she is requesting a private channel"_

"_That's fine; transfer it to my ready room" _Thelev responds as he gets up from his seat and makes his way to the turbolift.

In no time, he is sitting in his large ready room. He hits the respond button on his desktop and Kellzy's face appears.

"_Captain I just wanted to say good luck and that we'll be right on your tail" _She smiles at him as she continues. _"Also thank you for taking the children, it means everything to us that our race continues". _

"_Hey as far as I'm concerned as soon as we're in the Alpha Quadrant I'll make sure a fleet is sent back to rescue the rest of you"._ Thelev leans forward to the screen, _"Just make sure you stay hidden okay"? _

"_Captain if this Borg Cube is as formable as it seems then I'd image our small fleet won't exist for long. Just make sure you get through the Sulgat". _Kellzy allows herself one last smile as she signs off.

The captain leans back in his seat, so much was riding on this flimsy plan. He couldn't help but be worried. All the lives rested in his leadership. Not just the crew but also the forty children he had taking on which represented the last of a race. He closes his eyes for a moment to control his breathing. Last thing he wanted was to be sick on his desk.

Back on the bridge, Thelev had issued the order to disembark. The Barak and Talus fleet were now in high warp heading towards the nebular. Milne had been ordered to give a tactical update every thirty seconds.

"_Captain, the Borg Cube has spotted us. She has gone to warp. ATA is 160 seconds"._

"_Helm what is the time to the Gate"? _

"_Dropping from warp now captain, we're a two minutes form the Gate. We're at maximum impulse."_ came Lt Bristow's reply.

The signal had already been sent to the Sulgat to power up. The time between the Barak arriving and the gate at full power with minimal. Bristow would have to thread the eye of the needle at a dangerous speed. One other problem was that the prototype Sulgat was not much bigger that the Barak herself.

"_Captain the Talus fleet has engaged the Cube"_

Within a couple of seconds of making Thelev aware of this Lt Milne had already put it up on screen. They could see the enormous Cube taking up most of the screen. It was dotted with explosions of from the Talus torpedoes. It did not look like they were slowing it down any as after every explosion the ship seemed to heal itself.

"_What the hell is that thing"?_ Thelev says to himself.

The cube continued on its intercept of the Barak and allowed the other alien fleet to take their best shot.

"_15 seconds to the Gate Captain"_ Bristow informed.

It looked like they would make it. The Gates was quickly approaching and Bristow had lined the ship up nicely.

"_Sir they are…"_

Milne tried to finish his sentence but it was two late. The Borg cube had fired eight photon torpedoes at the Barack. The speed and the precise manner of the shots stunned them. Within a few seconds, the ship was rocked with explosions. The first three torpedoes had downed the shields. Another four had hit the rear sections of the ship. Down below crew members and the children are sucked out of the breaches into the cold of space through the gaping holes left by the destruction of the bulkheads. The final and eighth torpedo hit the port nacelle. It exploded with a violate show of energy and light. It was enough to spin the Barack off its course. Back on the bridge Thelev and his men could do nothing to control the ship. On the main screen, Thelev watched as he realised that the ship would hit the other ring of the gate. His life didn't flash before him, he wasn't scared. In the seconds that past, it felt like a lifetime. All he could think about was the children he still though were onboard and his ex wife. What was left of the USS Barack slammed into the outer ring of the Sulgat. The resulting explosion was enough to take out a large chunk of the Borg cube and destroy five of the Talus-Qual ships. Kellzy's own ship had been on the far side of the Cube, which had shielded them. Stunned she watches on the view screen, her whole bridge crew looks just as shocked. The only thing that brought them back to reality was the green glow and heavy thud of the Borg tractor beam. Within seconds, three Borg humanoids had beams onto her bridge. The lead Borg grabs her by the head and plunges his cold sharp mental tubes into her neck. All she can feel is something being pumped into her bloodstream before passing out. The last thing she hears is the voice of the Borg holding her.

"_**Royal protocol activated, resistance is futile"**_

**THE END**


End file.
